After the Mamluk victory over the Mongols in 1260 at the battle of Ain Jalut by Qutuz and his general Baybars. Qutuz was assassinated leaving Baybars to claim the role of Sultan for himself. As Sultan, Baybars proceeded to asttack the Christians in Arsuf, Athilith, Haifa, Safad, Jaffa, Ascalon and Caesarea. As the Crusader fortress cities fell one by one, the Christians sought help from Europe, but help was clow to come.
In 1268 Baybars captured Antioch, also destroying the last remnant of the Principality of Antioch, northern securing the Mamluk front and threatening the small Crusader County of Tripoli. Louis IX of France, having already organized a large Crusader army with the intent of attacking Egypt, was diverted to Tunis, where Louis himself died in 1270. Prince Edward of England arrived in Tunis too late to contribute to the remainder of the crusade in Tunis. Instead, he continued on his way to the Holy Land to help the Prince of Antioch, against the Mamluk threat to Tripoli and the remains of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Crusader Operations in the Holy Land It was decided that Edward along with Louis' brother Charles D'Anjou would take their forces onward to Acre, capital of the remains of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the final objective of Baybars' campaign. The army of Edward and Charles arrived in 1271, while Baibars was besieging Tripoli, which as the last remaining territory of the County of Tripoli was full of tens of thousands of Christian refugees. From their bases in Cyprus and Acre, Edward and Charles managed to break the siege. As soon as Edward arrived in Acre, he made some attempts to form an alliance, sending an embassy to the Mongol ruler of Persia Abagha, an enemy of the Muslims. The embassy was led by Reginald Rossel, Godefroi of Waus and John of Parker, and its mission was to obtain military support from the Mongols. Abagha agreed for cooperation and asked at what date the attack on the Mamluks would take place. The arrival of the additional forces of Hugh III of Cyprus further emboldened Edward, who engaged in a raid on the town of Qaqun. At the end of October 1271, a small force of Mongols arrived in Syria and ravaged the land from Aleppo southward. However Abagha, occupied by other conflicts in Turkestan could only send 10,000 Mongol horsemen under general Samagar from the occupation army in Seljuk plus auxiliary Seljukid troops. Despite the relatively small force though, their arrival still triggered an exodus of Muslim populations as far south as Cairo. But the Mongols did not stay, and when the Mamluk leader Baibars mounted a counter-offensive from Egypt on November 12th, the Mongols had already retreated beyond the Euphrates. In the interim, Baybars came to suspect there would be a combined land-sea attack on Egypt. Feeling his position sufficiently threatened, he endeavored to head off such a maneuver by building a fleet. Having finished construction of the fleet, rather than attack the Crusader army directly, Baybars attempted to land on Cyprus in 1271, hoping to draw Hugh III of Cyprus and his fleet out of Acre, with the objective of conquering the island and leaving Edward and the crusader army isolated in the Holy Land. However, in the ensuing naval campaign the fleet was destroyed and Baybars' armies were forced back.
A Truce
Following this victory, Edward realized that to ensure long-term resistance it was necessary to end the internal unrest within the Christian state, and so he mediated between Hugh and his unenthusiastic knights from the Ibelin family of Cyprus. After the mediation, Prince Edward of England began negotiating an eleven-year truce with Baybars, although this negotiation almost ended when Baybars attempted to assassinate him by sending men pretending to seek baptism as Christians. Edward and his knights personally killed the assassins and at once began preparations for a direct attack on Jerusalem. However, when news arrived that Edward's father Henry III had died, a treaty was signed with Baybars, allowing Edward to return home to be crowned King of England in 1272.
After the Mamluk victory over the Mongols in 1260 at the battle of Ain Jalut by Qutuz and his general Baybars. Qutuz was assassinated leaving Baybars to claim the role of Sultan for himself. As Sultan, Baybars proceeded to asttack the Christians in Arsuf, Athilith, Haifa, Safad, Jaffa, Ascalon and Caesarea. As the Crusader fortress cities fell one by one, the Christians sought help from Europe, but help was clow to come.
In 1268 Baybars captured Antioch, also destroying the last remnant of the Principality of Antioch, northern securing the Mamluk front and threatening the small Crusader County of Tripoli.
Louis IX of France, having already organized a large Crusader army with the intent of attacking Egypt, was diverted to Tunis, where Louis himself died in 1270. Prince Edward of England arrived in Tunis too late to contribute to the remainder of the crusade in Tunis. Instead, he continued on his way to the Holy Land to help the Prince of Antioch, against the Mamluk threat to Tripoli and the remains of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Crusader Operations in the Holy Land
It was decided that Edward along with Louis' brother Charles D'Anjou would take their forces onward to Acre, capital of the remains of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the final objective of Baybars' campaign. The army of Edward and Charles arrived in 1271, while Baibars was besieging Tripoli, which as the last remaining territory of the County of Tripoli was full of tens of thousands of Christian refugees. From their bases in Cyprus and Acre, Edward and Charles managed to break the siege.
As soon as Edward arrived in Acre, he made some attempts to form an alliance, sending an embassy to the Mongol ruler of Persia Abagha, an enemy of the Muslims. The embassy was led by Reginald Rossel, Godefroi of Waus and John of Parker, and its mission was to obtain military support from the Mongols. Abagha agreed for cooperation and asked at what date the attack on the Mamluks would take place.
The arrival of the additional forces of Hugh III of Cyprus further emboldened Edward, who engaged in a raid on the town of Qaqun. At the end of October 1271, a small force of Mongols arrived in Syria and ravaged the land from Aleppo southward. However Abagha, occupied by other conflicts in Turkestan could only send 10,000 Mongol horsemen under general Samagar from the occupation army in Seljuk plus auxiliary Seljukid troops. Despite the relatively small force though, their arrival still triggered an exodus of Muslim populations as far south as Cairo.
But the Mongols did not stay, and when the Mamluk leader Baibars mounted a counter-offensive from Egypt on November 12th, the Mongols had already retreated beyond the Euphrates.
In the interim, Baybars came to suspect there would be a combined land-sea attack on Egypt. Feeling his position sufficiently threatened, he endeavored to head off such a maneuver by building a fleet. Having finished construction of the fleet, rather than attack the Crusader army directly, Baybars attempted to land on Cyprus in 1271, hoping to draw Hugh III of Cyprus and his fleet out of Acre, with the objective of conquering the island and leaving Edward and the crusader army isolated in the Holy Land. However, in the ensuing naval campaign the fleet was destroyed and Baybars' armies were forced back.
A Truce
Following this victory, Edward realized that to ensure long-term resistance it was necessary to end the internal unrest within the Christian state, and so he mediated between Hugh and his unenthusiastic knights from the Ibelin family of Cyprus. After the mediation, Prince Edward of England began negotiating an eleven-year truce with Baybars, although this negotiation almost ended when Baybars attempted to assassinate him by sending men pretending to seek baptism as Christians. Edward and his knights personally killed the assassins and at once began preparations for a direct attack on Jerusalem. However, when news arrived that Edward's father Henry III had died, a treaty was signed with Baybars, allowing Edward to return home to be crowned King of England in 1272.